weightlifting tip

[Monkeylemon]

Originally Posted by Largo

Isn't Krav Maga the Israeli martial art?

Have you ever heard of Parkour? It's not a martial art, just a system for moving through urban environments. Sebastian Fuqua (spelling?) played the mad bomber in the big chase scene in Casino Royale. He holds seminars on it. That would be a really interesting way to stay fit.

You can find some amazing Parkour videos online, and there was a good New Yorker article on it in 2007...very, very cool.

[cummings66]

The Mayo Clinic has some info on strength training. What they have found through study is that you can do as many reps as you want, but you have no more gains than doing a simple routine like this.

Find the max amount of weight that you can handle and get 12 reps out of, up to about 15. You should be struggling on the last one. That's it, no more. Just do the 12 and you're done. Now, when you can handle that add more weight until you struggle on the 12th again, repeat. 2 to 3 times per week.

The study showed that this gives you the most gain and is equal to those other plans which take far longer and have all kinds of sets.

This is for strength training though.

[fanatique]

Yeah. Apparently for strength training the old way is the best. The whole light weight-high reps routine has been disproven, and the method the OP has highlighted, which I think originated from Pete Sisco, doesn't seem to have as much scientific consensus as the old standby cummings66 mentioned.

[rmkrause]

Best piece of advice I could give is to learn to do the exercises properly in a controlled manner - a lot of people go to the gym, and have bad form and use too much weight. Great book to learn proper form is "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe.

A lot of gaining muscle also comes down to diet - even if your gym routine is spot on, if you are not eating right you won't make the gains you want.

[cummings66]

Many of us aren't looking to gain muscle bulk, but rather muscle strength. Agreed that diet is important and that diet should be tailored to the goal you have in mind.

I'd love to have ripped abs, but at my age life in general is more important to me and I simply don't want to sacrifice things to get that look. Strength enough to carry double HP120's and gear, not being too fat, those are my goals. If by accident I end up with a 6 pack I'd be happy, but if not it's not going to kill me. Face it, I just want to be healthy enough to have fun and not live the health lifestyle. I will NEVER trim the fat off my ribeye steak, nor any other steak or roast. I love the fat, it's what makes meat tender and gives it flavor. I love butter in my baked potato, and when I make any meal I never ever use low fat substitutes. But I limit portion size. My favorite meal is Ribeye steak marbled with fat, steamed broccoli and a baked potato with bread. Bread pudding for desert.

Using the Mayo Clinic's plan I have upped my strength a LOT and to be honest I weigh more now than I did when I started, but my pants fit looser. I haven't really changed my diet, and I know if I did I'd drop the fat layer and look better, but my goals are a better cardiovascular system and to be stronger than I was.

[Byte Me]

I started in January doing a routine similar to bane51031, cardio every day (M-F) ranging from 20-30 minutes on the elliptical (I can't run, torn meniscus in my right knee) and the do a weight routine like cummings66 (Matt) mentioned, 12 reps with the last being a struggle but do three sets not just one. arms/chest back M&F, legs T&Th, shoulders W, abs every day. I went from 240 in January to 210 by mid April, I'm just over 6'2". So that seems to be working.

I changed my eating habits quite a bit as well, however, again like Matt I'm not willing to give up certain things and won't ever get to the total "lean and mean" look. I like beer too much!! Haven't cut down on beer at all and am not avoiding anything in particular other than staying away from fried foods, especially chips. Those are my weakness, even more than desserts. Put a bag of cool ranch or, hell, any doritos in front of me and I'll eat 1/2 a bag while making dinner!

Thanks for the tips and please, keep us posted on how it works. I'm not totally in this for strength, I just don't want to be repulsed when I look at myself in the mirror. I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to pull off every day during the week workouts so something like you're talking about mixed in w/ cardio to either maintain or continue on the path I'm on would be perfect! Actually my goal weight is about 215 but I'd like to "move" a bit of the remaining belly up into the chest and arms...